


One Good Memory

by audino



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Birthday Party, Gen, Happy Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-04
Packaged: 2017-12-04 06:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/707698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audino/pseuds/audino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Birth....day....?<br/>She wheeled around to Aoi, who had also yelled with everyone and was currently holding out her arms wide in some spectacular presentation. <br/>"W-What day is i-it?!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Good Memory

**Author's Note:**

> I really like Touko Fukawa and I wrote 3k words in 3 hours so I hope you like it even if it's a little messy and has no editing right now ahaha... happy birthday, SHSL Literary Girl!

Touko let out a long sigh. Her hand raised from the paper and she surveyed her work with a doubtful glare. Long line after line of cheesy romance spilled out before her, about some heroine in the throes of longing for her crush, some handsome, rich prince far beyond her reach.   The typicality of the plotline seemed reassuringly familiar and frustratingly empty of something.  She looked up from her desk, around her dorm room. She'd been working for hours on end,  without stop, trying to finish this assignment before deadline. It was late in the afternoon, too, but like she cared. She didn't have any friends to meet up with for dinner or any party to attend. No, just more time home to work on this infernal writing. She picked up her pencil again, tapping the desk desperately. The entire last week had been filled up to the brim with writing and chasing down assignments and deadlines, and she was dog tired.

She gazed down at the rows of paper again, maddened by their unquenchable need to be filled to the brim with story and conflict. Finally, fed up, she shoved the paper away in one rough motion and groaned audibly. The little note cards left on top indicating revisions and additions she wanted to add later went flying all around her, but she barely noticed, even when one slapped her cheek gently before falling to the ground.

As if in answer to her inward cursing, a faint knocking came floating to her from her door. She grimaced painfully, not wanting to deal with any more human reaction today.

"W-What is it?" She called, without moving from her seat or even turning around. A cheerful voice responded sing-song like from the other side. A-Asahina...?

"Touko-chaaaaan! Come out already!" Touko's gaze hardened. She wouldn't be dragged out tonight.

"N-N-No! I d-d-don't want to, okay? Go away." There was a pause. Silence. She smiled victoriously. She'd have the night to herself. But Aoi did not sway that easily.

"Come o-o-o-on!! Everyone's waiting for you!" Fukawa's body stiffened. _Everyone_? They were all waiting for her? What the hell for? Then realization smacked her like a brick. It was some prank they were going to pull, wasn't it? They all wanted to invite little, nervous Touko out to the sandbox and kick sand in her eyes, wasn't it? She hissed a breath, and stomped over to the door, slamming it open. Asahina stood there, slightly stunned, arm raised in a half-curled fist ready for another knock.

"C-C-Can't you just leave me alone for one night? I d-d-don't want to be your joke!" Asahina crumpled, distress cutting a thin shadow over her face. 

"N-No, it's not a joke!" Touko squinted her eyes dangerously at Aoi's stutter of surprise, getting more dubious by the moment. "Really, I swear on all the sweet, sugary desserts in the world! C'mon, Touko!" The fingers of one of her hands were beginning to curl around the frame of the door, some strength behind her grip to hold it open while she coaxed the SHSL Literary Girl out from the dark. Then she laced her free hand into one of Touko's and grinned, earning her a instantaneous flinch and jerk away from the girl on the other side of the door. Aoi pouted, but there was such dismay in her face that Touko gave in.

"F-F-Fine, I'll go..." she chattered out in one hot breath of vexation. Aoi grinned wider, and took her hand back.

In fact Asahina managed to have a hold of her hand all the way to the cafeteria, skipping slightly with each step and beaming like sunshine was in her fingertips and rolled off her skin. It made Fukawa so jealous and envious at the same time, making her insides roil with inward anger. All she could tell herself was "Maybe this won't hurt so much this time" but she didn't even believe herself.

Finally the doors loomed to the eatery, suspiciously the rest of the journey had been devoid of anyone else in the halls, despite the fact that Hagakure always seemed to be out and about. Aoi hovered her hand near the door, then shot her an excited look.

"Ready?"

"J-J-Just get on with it." Aoi beamed wide, tugged Touko forward, and whipped the door open heartily, a gust of force making her shut her eyes quickly and quiver unthinkingly into the swimmer's chest. 

She waited a moment, prepared for the humiliation looming at hand, waited for the jeering calls or the peels of laughter ringing out like sirens banging in her ears, ready to turn tail and run like hell at first sound of trouble. But nothing. Silence. She begrudgingly opened her eyes half-way, and was hit instantly by the brilliant light exploding from the hall. Then noise immediately exploded from no where all at once, and thirteen students jumped up from hiding spots all over and screamed in unison,

**" _HAPPY BIRTHDAAAAAY TOUKO!_ "**

Needless to say, Touko stood in stunned silence for several minutes, her hands clutching her chest tightly and mouth hanging open.

_Birth....day....?_

She wheeled around to Aoi, who had also yelled with everyone and was currently holding out her arms wide in some spectacular presentation. 

"W-What day is i-it?!" She demanded, patience thin. Aoi's face fell for a second, then brightened.

"March 3rd, silly! Your birthday!" Again, Touko stood in shocked silence. But this time it was of a different nature. _Her Birthday... of course. She'd been so busy writing she'd forgotten it was today, she'd thought maybe a few days still remained_... then her hands moved up to her forehead and gripped at her ringing temples. _It was her birthday... and they'd all come to celebrate it..._?! She only just choked back a pathetic sob. She didn't even eat lunch with anyone else, and now she was going to share an entire party with an entire class of people... her friends... something in her she thought was long gone beat with a happy hum.

Then Aoi grabbed her by the shoulder and wheeled her towards the dining hall-style table placed in the center of the room, armed to the teeth with huge plates of all kinds of food and desserts. And at the head of the table loomed a large, empty seat, with its' place already set. And all around the setting there were presents, large and small, crowding the plate and threatening to take up just as much space as the food. Another sob was smothered in her throat. Never, never had she even had a birthday party with her friends before, and yet... yet...!

Sakura approached her a laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, nodding solemnly at her near-breakdown. 

"It is okay. We only mean well. Please come eat with us." She warbled in her usual resolved, knowing tone. Touko nodded weakly, and let herself be lead to the table front- god, how unfitting the seat was- and sat, facing all her friends, who all grinned at her encouragingly. Well... almost all of them. Three were missing. She turned to ask Sakura where the others were when her voice was drowned out by a sudden shout from the other end of the hall.

"IIIIIIIIIIIT'S READDDDDYYYYY!!" Touko turned again in her chair, and froze. Half way down the room, Junko Enoshima was barreling at them with a gigantic chocolate cake, lit candles and all, the size of a small chest. It had delicate calligraphy and design across the top and frosting touches all down the sides. The explanation for such meticulous additions to the massive thing was trailing at Junko's elbow, where Mukuro stumbled along, seemingly disappointed she didn't get to carry the cake in. 

Junko gently thudded the delicacy in what empty space there was left on the table infront of Touko with a proud puff of her chest.

"That took aaaaaall day to make, you know! You better like it!"  She smirked down at the librarian, then wriggled impatiently. "Well, it's _your_ birthday! Blow out the candles already!" Touko observed her a second, then looked down at the cake, then at every one around her (Maizono gave her an encouraging smile, and even Oowada didn't look as mad as usual) and at last, leaned forward, pursed her lips together and gave a gentle blow.

From her right she felt the whip of a blow with much more gusto, and popped open her eyes to watch Junko blow every single last candle into ashy submission. Touko watched, mouth agape, then choked back a whimper. Junko barked laughter like a hyena, and Mukuro merely made a few sad cooing noises. Then Mondo joined with a trickle of snickers, followed by Kiyotaka's nervous laugh, and then Chihiro's tinkling titter and Asahina's high pitched giggles joined, and finally completed by Sakura smiling wisely but remaining mute. Some weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders. They were laughing _with_ her. Then her own laugh was added, too, and it was her normal, sane, happy laugh that smoothed their voices into one happy chorus as they began devouring the tasty morsels of cake and sweets and food laid out all over the table.

It was then some time later that Touko found herself slumped against the table, full to the point of tightness around her ribs and the taste of dark chocolate frosting still on her tongue. The cake was gone, delicious to every last bit, and the food was thoroughly ravaged, and all that remained on the table untouched and unaffected by their storm of hunger was the pile of presents in bright, shining colours that refused to relinquish her attention.

At last Aoi came up to her, smiling, with Sakura at her side, and everyone gathered near the one end of the table, and even Mondo grinned as he caught Kiyotaka by the shoulder and shouted, "Open them already!" down to her while downing another cup of sake with Kiyotaka miming his move and Chihiro giggling at their game a few feet away. Then Celes and Hifumi were there, and Celes had stolen the last piece of cake out from his hands and was slowly eating the piece right in front of his face with great glee and spite. Maizono dragged Kuwata over, and they both shared a secret grin at each other before Kuwata shot Touko a thumbs-up. Even Kirigiri, Makoto, and Hagakure hovered nearby, all shooting her wide grins (or as wide as Kirigiri's faraway smile could get, anyway).

Then Hagakure raised one finger in the air, pointed at the present-pile with it with great intensity, and shouted, "Let the presents reveal themselves at once!" and Aoi playfully pushed the first one into her lap, a tightly wrapped, silvery thing the size of a small book. Aoi nodded encouragingly at her and she smiled nervously in response, tearing at the paper lightly until the package fell into her hands. 

She gave a little "O-oh" and blushed feverishly, taking in the cover at once. It was an X-Rated doujin, and across the front splayed a small, weak-looking girl with wide-rimmed glasses and long braids, being pushed to the floor by a well-dressed politician, who suspiciously resembled... Touko bit her lip. At the foot of the thing was a small, hand-written signature which she didn't even need to see but proclaimed "HIFUMI YAMADA" anyway. She snorted furiously and pretended to slam the thing back on the table with disgust. Everyone gave her sympathetic nods but when they weren't looking she mouthed a very conflicted "t-t-thank you". He grinned, and gave her a double thumbs-up.

Next was a fairly small gift with pastel polka dot wrapping paper. She teared away the paper easily, and a plethora of pens fell across her lap, each in a rainbow of colors and sizes with cute little animal charms on each one. She looked up, and Aoi smiled sheepishly at her.

"I'm sorry, I just thought they were so cute, I couldn't resist... but I don't know what happened to the bear one!" She pouted, and Fukawa picked up the pen she was referring to. Apparently someone'd taken the little pen with a bear on top, and messily colored half the charm with black with a small red eye. Touko gave a nervous laugh.

"Well, you got me so many, it's okay if someone broke this one, anyway." She shoved it away from the other pens, to an indignant huff from someone around her. She ignored it and dove on, determined to appreciate every last one of her gifts.

Next was a lunch box from Kuwata filled with delicious-looking homemade food, which he admitted he had not been able to think of a better gift, anyway, so he'd made as many mouth-watering mini dishes as possible and packed them in.

Hagakure happily read her her fortune for free, predicting she'd die by the age of thirty and marry a young business owner. She merely nodded wearily, trying to resist the urge of yelling him out of the room.

Kiyotaka had given his present in good heart, but a little misguidedly, as he thrust a gigantic book of School Rules, Guidelines, and their Punishments into her arms and laughed "I know you like to read, so I just..."

Makoto had clumsily gotten a last minute present, which meant it was a card with cute puppies on the front and "Hope you have a very happy, bright birthday!" message on the inside. (Inwardly she spat).

Maizono and Chihiro together had bought her a full set of make up, hair charms, and everything she'd ever need for her nails. Aoi promised her they could have a sleep over and put them to good use sometime soon, and Touko found her breath coming quick. 

Celes had given her a set of trick dice and chips tagged with the message "Now you'll stop losing to me in cards".

Mondo's present was the most unexpected. Apparently it'd taken many hours of Chihiro's help, but he'd raised a little tamagatchi pet to it's highest happiness, and now there was a cute little pet jumping about the screen asking to be fed. At first she thought she'd hate it, but as Chihiro showed her the buttons she found herself tacking away at them more and more insistently.

And finally Kirigiri got her a murder mystery story, and as it turned out actually thought it would be to her taste and failed to find any irony in the gift whatsoever (She thought the main character might die, so she kept it). Admitably, they were all relatively simple gifts, but most were sweet and even the ones she hated she felt make the feeling in her thrum faster until she felt dizzy.

Such happiness from just her friends. And she gazed around the room, letting her sight fall over each one of them in turn, appreciating them even being there.

Then something tugged her again. 

She turned to Chihiro, who was still trying to teach her the jump rope game on her tamagatchi, and breathed her last question.

"W-W-Where's B-B-Byakuya, any-anyway?" Chihiro paused, bit her lip, then looked away. 

"I think Sakura knows, right?" Touko blinked. _Sakura... why did Sakura know_...? Some harrowed jealousy stabbed through her again, and the anger hissed until it drowned out the humming deep in her, and she stood instantly.

"Sakura!" She yelped half pathetically, half intensely. The lack of her usual stutter brought everyone's attention right to her at once. "Where's Byakuya?" The general tone of the room dropped to a low buzz. Touko's face voiced every inch of her frustration wordlessly. The wrestler, however, took her time to respond. After a very long time, she turned to Fukawa and sighed. 

"Upon Aoi's suggestion..." Touko tensed, _how far down did the conspiracy go_? "...I found Byakuya Togami and...er, convinced him to patiently wait for you in the storage room." She paused. "Kind of. It was an insurance measure, anyway, incase you did not like your other presents. Also because he would not stop complaining about having to help set up decorations." She gave a sly smile at that, and Touko watched her with mixed horror, anger, and glee. She'd barely heard past the first sentence. Her prince... _waiting for her?_  

Without waiting for a response, she leapt up and ran from the hall, her tamagatchi beeping needily from her wrist, and headed straight for the storage room.  She ripped the door open as soon as she was there, all strangled, hot breath and biting lips.

There, laid out on a pile of money probably taken from his own wallet, was Byakuya Togami, stripped from his suit and now in the pinkest, frilliest dress Touko'd ever seen, and wrapped all around with bright red ribbon, gagging his mouth and arms behind his back. When he saw her enter, his eyes widened hugely, and he writhed pathetically, trying to escape in the other direction. A card laid on the ground beside him that read simply, "Take what we do not want. It is yours."

Touko Fukawa stood in the doorway, and smiled to herself as she quietly closed the door.

"Happy Birthday to me~" 


End file.
